I see Jim Holperin announced his decision to run for State Senate recently. He cited an absence of ideas as his reason to return to politics. He said he will offer the same kind of political experience and leadership as Sen. Roger Breske.

The last thing we need is more of the same in Madison. Breske voted for the biggest tax increase in state history last year, including an oil tax that would have increased gasoline prices 10 cents per gallon. What kind of leadership is that?

Holperin also criticized his opponent, Tom Tiffany, for being too focused on the state budget. Why are taxes so high in Wisconsin? Because of the bloated state budget, I am voting for Tom Tiffany this fall because he understands a state senator has to separate wants from needs just like families do.

Holperin’s justification for running is an “absence of ideas.” He also said he will be the same as Sen. Roger Breske. Which is it? The last thing we need up here is more of the same in Madison. Breske had gotten too chummy with Gov. Doyle and the Madison liberals and voted for the biggest tax increase in state history last year, including an oil tax that would have added 10 cents a gallon to gasoline! Breske’s metamorphosis from a centrist to a liberal Democrat made him popular in Madison but it made him vulnerable here in northern Wisconsin.

Breske’s recent promotion to Railroad Czar neatly dovetailing with Holperin’s announcement for his seat is a classic case of rescuing a troubled incumbent. In racing or computers, this is called, “dragging out the tired iron.” “Tired iron” is a term for an old machine that is functionally OK but compared to a newer machine (read newer ideas) it is an old dinosaur and should be replaced.Holperin has criticized his opponent, Tom Tiffany, for being too focused on the economy. Huh? Why are taxes so high in Wisconsin? Because we have a morbidly obese state government. Why is gas so much? Many reasons – but one is Wisconsin taxes about 30 cents a gallon and it gets adjusted (usually up) annually. Why are jobs leaving the north? Because we don’t have a voice in the Senate that is willing to stand up to his own party’s environmental extremists who are costing us jobs.

I am voting for Tom Tiffany because he “gets it.” He knows we need to grow the economy, not the government. I’m also voting for Tom because he is a small businessman and knows how to balance a budget and turn a profit, not spend beyond his means. One last thing, “Tom Tiffany is a guy with real world experience and new ideas, Jim Holperin is a career politician and government bureaucrat. Jim Holperin is tired iron, that is why I’m voting for Tom Tiffany.

"The last thing we need is more of the same in Madison" the first letter says. Then why would anyone vote for Tiffany? He offers that very same extreme fringe of the Republican party that refused to even come to work during the last legislative session.

If all the atheists left the United States it would lose 93% of the National Academy of Sciences but less than 1% of the prison population.